Latest in Beauty – The ‘Cosmopolitan Party Starter’ box

I mentioned, in my November Latest in Beauty subscription post, that I had re-subscribed after being drawn to the site by a new box, from LiB, curated by Cosmopolitan; the ‘Cosmopolitan Party Starter’ edit. I’ve not bought one of Latest in Beauty’s collections in a long time but this one really, really jumped out at me and I think, once you see it, you’ll see why! I just happened to be on the look out for a treat for myself, after getting a rather nasty biopsy done, and this couldn’t have popped up at a better time.

The products came in a big, strong ‘Latest in Beauty’ branded box, with a fun ‘Cosmopolitan Party Starter edit’ sleeve around it to tie it in with the specific edition. I love the brightly coloured confetti feel to it, it certainly has that party vibe going on. The box is £25 but the contents are worth over £121 so you’re easily getting your money’s worth and the products are really rather great and I will use almost everything in there.

Just look at all of that for £25! The only things I definitely won’t use are the Eyelure ‘Volume No. 100 Lashes’ because, I just don’t do lashes. I’ll either pass them on to a friend or pop them in to a giveaway. The other item that, probably, isn’t for me is the St Tropez ‘Instant Tan Finishing Gloss’ but I have to say I’m a bit intrigued by this and want to see if it’s the sort of product that would be nice on the legs even without a tan in the summer, like some of the old Soap & Glory sprays I used to have that add a sheen, and a hint of colour, without needing a tan.

Everything else, though, I’ll be using so I’ll try to run through some brief thoughts in some sort of order. Top left we have the Sleek ‘Matte Me Lip Cream’ in the shade ‘Rioja Red’ – I didn’t swatch anything for this post as I think it’ll be long enough anyway, but I’ve had some of these lip creams before and so am expecting good things from it. The tube to the right is a sample size of the Beverly Hills ‘Perfect White – Black’ which we’ve featured before, so I already know I like. It’s a bizarrely black product but offers whitening without abrasion which is good.

I don’t really use hair spray much but I’ve heard good things about the Tigi Bed Head ‘Hard Head Har Hold’ hair spray so I’ll be keeping hold of this mini in case it’s something I find myself needing. It’s certainly a great idea for a party box too. I sometimes use makeup wipes for my first cleanse when I’m wearing a full face of makeup, they certainly aren’t something I use every day but they are a great backup to have laying around. As such the Yes To ‘Cotton Comforting Facial Wipes’ are a welcome addition to the box – This is a full sized pack of 25 and they’re meant to be super soft and great for sensitive skin so I’m happy to have them.

Back to the left, on the next row, we have a 100ml bottle of Soaper Duper ‘Vanilla Shea’ body wash. I don’t recognise the name of this brand but I feel like the cute, quirky bottle is something I may have seen before. I love the idea of this scent but don’t want to open it until I’m more ready to use it. A 5ml sample of the Erborian ‘Pink Perfect Creme’ is next and I think a primer which offers glow, pore blurring and texture evening is a perfect additional step to a party look.

I am in love with this mini palette from Sleek in the colourway ‘All Night Long’. I’ve never seen a palette like this before but it, truly, is a teeny version of a normal Sleek palette and it makes me so happy. The shades are absolutely gorgeous and, just so tiny! Underneath the baby palette is a card for a free day using the website Beauty Pie. I’ve, actually, heard of Beauty Pie before and was quite excited to see this in here – The site claims to sell high value cosmetics, in unbranded packaging, for only a few pounds but you need to sign up as a member to take advantage of the reduced prices.

Full sized Nails Inc polishes show up in boxes quite often but I’ve never seen one from the ‘Sweet Almonds – Powered by Matcha’ range before and this beautiful Rose Gold shade, ‘Mayfair Market’, is just utterly gorgeous. I really like that this polish is meant to improve nail health, whilst looking gorgeous, and that the £15 value is over half the cost of the box. One of the most exciting items in the Cosmopolitan Party Starter box, for me, is the It Cosmetics ‘Brow Power’ universal eyebrow pencil. I’ve heard so, so much about this brand and wanted to try something from them so this was just perfect for me. The shade is a medium, taupey shade which is meant to work for everyone and I have a couple of days where I need to use products that I know definitely work, but once those are done I am trying the Brow Power out.

In terms of sticking with party prep, the next item makes a lot of sense. This GlamGlow ‘Gravity Mud Firming Mask Treatment’ was a welcome addition to the box, for me, I have tried GlamGlow before and really like their masks but this is one I’ve not tried before. The mask is, I believe silver, which will look interesting and it’s a peel off mask which is something I enjoy from a mask. You may recognise the next product as we got it very recently in a Powder Beauty Drawer – The Look Good Feel Better ‘Sculpting Sponge’ is something I still haven’t tried but I’ll add it to my stash of unused sponges as I love sponges and so will get through them all eventually. In terms of its appearance in the box, I do like sponges in a box and I think lots of people will be happy to see it.

And on to the last two products we have a Gilette ‘Venus – Snap Razor’ which is a tiny little razor (which is compatible with a range of the full sized Venus heads) which is great for travel and handy to keep around for so many people. I can really see how it fits with the party ready, theme, too so another interesting addition. Lastly we have 3 little pots of glitter from Glitterlution – My pots were so well filled that they actually leaked a little so before taking photos I had to clean everything in my box and they’re now kept in a little ziploc bag to stop everything in my makeup collection getting covered in the sparkly stuff haha. These three glitters are really pretty, though, with a gold, a pink and a silver toned set and they could be used for all sorts of things. If I use them it’ll most likely be for nails, I’m thinking they could be great to use on an accent nail in a party nail look. These glitters are eco friendly, which is nice, as most isn’t.

And, phew, we reached the end, that is the Cosmopolitan Party Starter edit. What a box! I really like this box and do think I’ll get use from almost everything in it, which considering I don’t always from a £10 sample box, is quite a good thing to be able to say. It far exceeds the £25 cost and a lot of the items are either full sized or really usable sample sizes so that’s a winner from me. I love how it really does all go together as a bit of a party prep kit and that it caters for almost anything you’d want this festive season if you were getting ready for a night out. Good job Latest in Beauty and Cosmopolitan too!

What are your thoughts on the box? Any real standout products or just impressed in general? Anything I should look out for on Beauty Pie?